"Mad Alchemist... Huh... That psycho?!"
Julien blinked his eyes.
"What about him?"
"I am planning to recruit him. His alchemy potions would surely be a decent source of income for us. Although he isn't a... sane person, we can surely make good use of him."
"You want to work with that psycho?!"
Julien looked baffled.
"You seem to know him personally."
Julien stared at me, searching for any signs of amusement in my eyes.
He might be wondering about my state of mind.
"Not only me, the entire fucking world knows about him! The official bounty on his head alone is enough to fund our operations for a decade."
Julien exclaimed.
Then, realising the extent of our potential expenses, "For a year maybe," he corrected himself.
"The kid isn't wrong."
Arthur added.
I knew it.
Working with that guy would be risky.
Not only for our personal plans but also for our safety.
Alfred Symer, also known as the Mad Alchemist.
A person whose devotion to his research far exceeded the bounds of a mortal.
He had been responsible for the deaths of around a million people in a span of fifteen years across the world.
Every race had issued orders for his arrest and execution, but no one had been able to capture him till date.
His crimes included, but were not limited to, experimenting on live humans, genetic mutations, and making creatures who are a mix of every race that lives on Jutan.
His love for discovering the beauty of nature, as he calls it, had led to disasters in many parts of the world.
He had once killed every single soul in a city of around fifty thousand people just so he could record the fluctuations in the density of mana upon the death of these many individuals at the same time.
The interesting thing about him was that he posted the results of his research for the world to see.
And whether the geniuses across the world wanted to admit it or not, many of them used his findings for their own personal growth.
Many of the advanced theories on mana, life, and living bodies that are currently available had been a gift from Alfred.
Simply in terms of capability, I would rate him as the best in history.
And the problem with making him work for us was—we wouldn't even know when our bodies were being tampered with.
He might add some potions to our meals, only to test the resilience of humans against his drugs or whatever they call it.
He might carve open someone's intestines, only to compare it with someone else's.
As for the result...
Which intestine fares better in digestion, which race has a good one, comparing the quality, proportion, and whatnot!
He didn't see people for who they are.
To him, everything is only a specimen to be dissected and studied.
Engaging with him is like playing with fire.
But it had to be done, if the food was to be cooked.
And I would surely be cooking a lot.
Making him obey me would be difficult, but...
There's no dog that can't be tamed.
He might be a little wild, but a dog nonetheless.
People fear him.
Why?
They say he's evil.
But we aren't saints either.
"His talent isn't something that can be replicated. And let's be honest, almost all the geniuses work for some or the other powerhouse. They wouldn't work for us even if we offer them more than what they have. He is our only choice."
Julien nodded in resignation.
"If that's what you want! Just before deciding, think for once whether he's truly worth the trouble."
Arthur didn't say anything.
His silence was his confirmation.
They were not satisfied, but that's only because they couldn't see far into the future.
They didn't have enough insight or vision.
Yet...
"And he's got a ton of other people working under him. Every one of them is a genius like never before."
I gave a charming smile to finish my pitch.
The result wasn't great.
They didn't seem happy with my decision, still complied out of reluctance.
I turned towards Arthur.
"Prepare fifty of your men by tomorrow morning."
"Are we fighting someone?"
Arthur inquired.
"Something like that. You could call it a... vacation."
"..."
***
Alfred had his main base of operations in the Ares mountain range, which was around a thousand miles from the city of Tamyr.
According to Arthur, we would need three days to reach there if we traveled by car, given that we camped out at night to reduce fatigue.
And also to avoid constant attacks from monsters who become more active when the sun goes down.
And also—
Wait...
Didn't I tell you?!
This world had all the modern and futuristic vehicles. It was a perfect blend of magic and science.
I would have loved to travel by horse, but there's no point in making the journey tiring without any real benefits.
As for what I was saying—I needed to train my combat skills.
And what better way than learning from Arthur himself?
To reach the Ares mountains, we would be required to travel through forests teeming with monsters.
Which would make it all the more suitable for me to train in live combat.
I only had two years before getting admitted to the academy.
I needed to grow much stronger from my current pathetically weak self so as to have an edge over the main characters who would be attending the classes along with me.
Can't be left behind the protagonist.
I have to live up to the expectations of my image as the game's final boss.
It would be embarrassing if I can't even defend myself.
So much for being the final boss!
Preparing the bed for the night's sleep, I gave a short glance to Julien, who slept like a log on the bed beside me.
The guy insisted on staying with me.
"For my protection," was what he said.
Must have been scared to sleep separately.
Snorting, I lay on the bed, closing my eyes.